Exploded star nicknamed 'Hand of God'

Nicknamed the "Hand of God," this object is called a pulsar wind nebula, and it's a cloud of material ejected from a star that exploded.

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, imaged the structure in high-energy X-rays for the first time, shown in blue. Lower-energy X-ray light previously detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is shown in green and red.

The pulsar wind nebula is powered by the leftover, dense core of a star that blew up in a supernova explosion.

The stellar corpse, called PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short, is a pulsar: it rapidly spins around, seven times per second, firing out a particle wind into the material around it -- material that was ejected in the star's explosion.

These particles are interacting with magnetic fields around the material, causing it to glow with X-rays. The result is a cloud that, in previous images, looked like an open hand.

The Hand of God is an example of pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon of the mind perceiving familiar shapes in random or vague images.

The pulsar itself can't be seen in this picture, but is located near the bright white spot.

One of the big mysteries of this object is whether the pulsar particles are interacting with the material in a specific way to make it look like a hand, or if the material is in fact shaped like a hand. NuSTAR's view is providing new clues to the puzzle. The hand actually shrinks in the NuSTAR image, looking more like a fist, as indicated by the blue color. The northern region, where the fingers are located, shrinks more than the southern part, where a jet lies, implying the two areas are physically different.

The red cloud at the end of the finger region is a different structure, called RCW 89. Astronomers think the pulsar's wind is heating the cloud, causing it to glow with lower-energy X-ray light.

PHOTOS: Nasa images that will put your earthly life in perspective

PHOTOS: Nasa images that will put your earthly life in perspective

NASA is constantly developing new cameras to launch into space and snap incredible photographs of our Earth, Milky Way galaxy, and mysterious deep space objects. Here are 10 of NASA's most mind-warping images shot in 2013.

Galaxy 4921 - This is an anemic spiral galaxy about 320 million light years from Earth. It's been dubbed "anemic" because it has a low rate of star formation and low surface brightness. In this image, its bright nucleus can be seen in the center. Blue clusters of recently formed stars gather around it.

Hand Of God

Can you see the shape of a hand in this NASA image? This object is called a pulsar wind nebula, and it's a cloud of material ejected from a star that exploded.

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, imaged the structure in high-energy X-rays for the first time, shown in blue. Lower-energy X-ray light previously detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is shown in green and red.

The pulsar wind nebula is powered by the leftover, dense core of a star that blew up in a supernova explosion.

The stellar corpse, called PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short, is a pulsar: it rapidly spins around, seven times per second, firing out a particle wind into the material around it -- material that was ejected in the star's explosion.

These particles are interacting with magnetic fields around the material, causing it to glow with X-rays. The result is a cloud that, in previous images, looked like an open hand.

The Hand of God is an example of pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon of the mind perceiving familiar shapes in random or vague images.

The pulsar itself can't be seen in this picture, but is located near the bright white spot.

One of the big mysteries of this object is whether the pulsar particles are interacting with the material in a specific way to make it look like a hand, or if the material is in fact shaped like a hand. NuSTAR's view is providing new clues to the puzzle. The hand actually shrinks in the NuSTAR image, looking more like a fist, as indicated by the blue color. The northern region, where the fingers are located, shrinks more than the southern part, where a jet lies, implying the two areas are physically different.

The red cloud at the end of the finger region is a different structure, called RCW 89. Astronomers think the pulsar's wind is heating the cloud, causing it to glow with lower-energy X-ray light.

Kepler-186f

Astronomers have discovered what they say is the most Earth-like planet yet detected The find excited planet hunters who have been scouring the Milky Way galaxy for years for potentially habitable places outside our solar system.

"This is the best case for a habitable planet yet found. The results are absolutely rock solid," University of California, Berkeley astronomer Geoff Marcy, who had no role in the discovery, said in an email.

The planet was detected by NASA's orbiting Kepler telescope, which studies the heavens for subtle changes in brightness that indicate an orbiting planet is crossing in front of a star. From those changes, scientists can calculate a planet's size and make certain inferences about its makeup.

The newfound object, dubbed Kepler-186f, circles a red dwarf star 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. A light-year is almost 6 trillion miles.

The planet is about 10 percent larger than Earth and may very well have liquid water - a key ingredient for life - on its surface, scientists said. That is because it resides at the outer edge of the habitable temperature zone around its star - the sweet spot where lakes, rivers or oceans can exist without freezing solid or boiling away.

The find "is special because we already know that a planet of this size and in the habitable zone is capable of supporting life as we know it," lead researcher Elisa Quintana of NASA's Ames Research Center said at a news conference.

The discovery was detailed in Friday's issue of the journal Science. It was based on observations that were made before the Kepler telescope was crippled by a mechanical failure last year.

The planet probably basks in an orange-red glow from its star and is most likely cooler than Earth, with an average temperature slightly above freezing, "similar to dawn or dusk on a spring day," Marcy said.

Quintana said she considers the planet to be more of an "Earth cousin" than a twin because it circles a star that is smaller and dimmer than our sun. While Earth revolves around the sun in 365 days, this planet completes an orbit of its star every 130 days.

Scientists cannot say for certain whether it has an atmosphere, but if it does, it probably contains a lot of carbon dioxide, outside experts said.

"Don't take off your breathing mask if you ever land there," said Lisa Kaltenegger, a Harvard and Max Planck Institute astronomer who had no connection to the research.

Despite the differences, "now we can point to a star and know that there really is a planet very similar to the Earth, at least in size and temperature," Harvard scientist David Charbonneau, who was not part of the team, said in an email.

If the planet is habitable, photosynthesis may be possible, said astronomer Victoria Meadows of the University of Washington, Seattle.

"There are Earth plants that would be quite happy with that," she said.

Since its launch in 2009, Kepler has confirmed 961 planets, but only a few dozen are in the habitable zone. Most are giant gas balls like Jupiter and Saturn, and not ideal places for life. Scientists in recent years have also found planets slightly larger than Earth in the Goldilocks zone called "super Earths," but it is unclear if they are rocky.

The latest discovery is the closest in size to Earth than any other known world in the habitable region.

Astronomers may never know for certain whether Kepler-186f can sustain life. The planet is too far away even for next-generation space telescopes like NASA's James Webb, set for launch in 2018, to study it in detail.

Sun's Canyon Of Fire - A 200,000-mile magnetic filament of solar material erupts on the sun. This event, which took place in September, ripped through the sun's atmosphere and left behind what looks like a "canyon of fire."

An unusually beautiful lunar eclipse to graced the night skies over the Santa Cruz mountains on April 15, 2014. The moon slid into the Earth's shadow and turned into a "blood moon."

Asteroids Dashing Past A Dying Star - NASA's WISE spacecraft took this striking shot of asteroids zooming past a dying star. As the heated gas and dust get sloughed away from the star, it creates the beautiful blue appearance.

Horsehead Nebula - The Hubble Space Telescope took this breathtaking shot of the Horsehead Nebula.

Large Magellanic Cloud - This sparkly satellite galaxy is about 163,000 light years from our own.

Artificial Light Across The U.S. - This natural-light mosaic image was captured by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite on Oct. 1.

"Witch Head" Nebula - This nebula's name comes from its resemblance to a wicked witch screaming into space. Taken by NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, this photo captures the billowy clouds of the nebula, where baby stars are being made.

Forty years ago, one of the greatest boxing matches in history took place in an unlikely setting: the capital of the Philippines. Muhammad Ali's epic win over great rival Joe Frazier in 1975 became known as the "Thrilla in Manila."